A Systemic Review of Financial Resilience as Drivers of Business Sustainability of Small and Medium-Scale Manufacturing Firms (Published)
This paper synthesizes conceptual, theoretical, and empirical literature on financial resilience and business sustainability among small and medium-scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs), with a contextual focus on Nigeria. Financial resilience is operationalized as a five-dimensional capability comprising financial buffer, liquidity management, access to finance, financial adaptability, and recovery capacity. Business sustainability is conceptualized as the enterprise’s enduring capacity to maintain operational continuity, preserve financial viability, and adapt to systemic shocks while creating long-term value. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), and Stakeholder Theory, this review articulates how internal resource accumulation, dynamic reconfiguration, and relational trust jointly drive SME sustainability. Empirical evidence confirms that while individual financial practices enhance short-term survival, the existing literature however, remains fragmented failing to examine these five dimensions simultaneously or evaluate their relative hierarchical contributions in volatile developing economies. Furthermore, most international research remains biased toward developed-economy contexts and temporary crisis events like COVID-19, overlooking chronic macroeconomic instability (e.g., fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange depreciation, and high interest rates). This review establishes an integrated conceptual model and delineates six critical empirical gaps, providing a rigorous foundation for future quantitative and mixed-methods research in sub-Saharan Africa.
Keywords: Access To Finance, Financial resilience, Liquidity Management, Nigeria, business sustainability, financial adaptability, financial buffer, manufacturing SMEs, recovery capacity